Photography
Stargazers had a treat over the weekend as an extreme solar storm, the strongest in two decades, caused fantastic auroras to be seen across large swaths of Europe and North America and as far south as Florida in the United States.
Ken Trombatore
May 12 | Joshua Tree, Calif.
The Milky Way shines over a Joshua tree as thousands of people visit in hopes of seeing the northern lights, or aurora borealis, illuminate the night sky.
Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images
Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images
May 12 | Novosibirsk region, Russia
Northern lights illuminate the night sky.
Vladimir Nikolayev/AFP/Getty Images
Vladimir Nikolayev/AFP/Getty Images
May 12 | Spean Bridge, Scotland
A general view of the Commando Memorial as the aurora borealis are visible in the early hours.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
May 12 | Mchowo, Poland
The northern lights are seen over a roadside cross.
Kacper Pempel/Reuters
Kacper Pempel/Reuters
May 12 | Ontario, Canada
Aurora borealis illuminate the night sky at the beach in Grand Bend.
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
May 12 | Ontario, Canada
The night sky is bright in Grand Bend.
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
May 11 | Daillens, Switzerland
Poplar trees under the aurora.
Laurent Gillieron/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Laurent Gillieron/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
May 11 | Skidmore, Mo.
Old tombstones stand against the backdrop of northern lights at a cemetery.
Charlie Riedel/AP
Charlie Riedel/AP
May 11 | Aarlanderveen, the Netherlands
The Northern lights light up the night sky above the Molenviergang.
Josh Walet/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Josh Walet/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
May 11 | Schierke, Germany
Northern lights appear above the Brocken mountain peak.
Matthias Bein/dpa/AP
Matthias Bein/dpa/AP
May 10 | Middleton, Calif.
Northern lights illuminate the night sky along a highway north of San Francisco.
Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
May 10 | Newburyport, Mass.
The northern lights over Plum Island and the mouth of the Merrimack River.
Cj Gunther/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Cj Gunther/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
May 10 | Between Minneapolis and Baltimore
The northern lights as seen through a window during a flight.
Ken Trombatore
Ken Trombatore
May 10 | Estacada, Ore.
In this image taken with a long exposure, the northern lights are seen in the sky.
Jenny Kane/AP
Jenny Kane/AP
May 10 | Markville, Minn.
The northern lights glow over St. Croix State Forest.
Mark Vancleave/AP
Mark Vancleave/AP
May 10 | Portsmouth, N.H.
The northern lights shine over a house.
Caleb Jones/AP
Caleb Jones/AP
May 10 | Whitley Bay, England
People gather at St. Mary's Lighthouse in northeast England to see the aurora borealis.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
The northern lights, formally known as aurora borealis, are caused when a surge of solar particles and energy interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere, exciting nitrogen and oxygen molecules and releasing photons of light.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Friday’s storm registered as an “extreme” geomagnetic storm at the G5 level, the highest on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s scale — stronger than NOAA forecasts initially predicted. The last extreme storm to hit the Earth, in October 2003, caused power outages and damaged transformers.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
May 10 | Edinburgh, Scotland
The northern lights illuminate the National Monument of Scotland.
Jacob Anderson/AFP/Getty Images
Jacob Anderson/AFP/Getty Images
May 10 | London, Canada
People pause along a country road to view the auroras.
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
May 10 | Crosby, England
People pose for a photograph with the aurora borealis.
Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
May 10 | Nièvre, France
The northern lights are reflected in the Lac de Saint-Agnan.
Gwenael Blanck/spaceweather.com
Gwenael Blanck/spaceweather.com
May 10 | Brunswick, Maine
The northern lights illuminate the sky.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
May 10 | Portsmouth, N.H.
The northern lights shine over houses and buildings.
Caleb Jones/AP
Caleb Jones/AP
May 10 | Gloucester, Mass.
The aurora borealis lights up the sky over the ocean.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Brian Snyder/Reuters
May 10 | East Brandenburg, Germany
The northern lights are seen above a road.
Patrick Pleul/dpa/AP
Patrick Pleul/dpa/AP
May 10 | Crosby, England
The aurora borealis is visible behind Another Place, a sculpture by Antony Gormley.
Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
May 10 | Vancouver, British Columbia
The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the sky over Jericho Beach.
Chris Helgren/Reuters
Chris Helgren/Reuters
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Credits
Photo editing and production by Jintak Han and Kenneth Dickerman